Dear Lord...

My Sweet Benjamin,

2011-07-01T20:35:00.003-05:00

My baby. My last baby. Benjamin, "the last boy"... Technically, I guess that means I could still have a girl, right? I might actually be insane and I would hope that your grandmother would check me into a home, if I seriously talk about having another child. You ARE my baby and I think you know it.

As I was looking back through your pictures this week, I realized this was the picture I was looking for. This is my memory of our first two years together. Not to say that there haven't been many other important memories, but this one, the one of you snuggled up on my chest, is what I choose to remember above all other memories. This small little nook between my neck and breast was made just for my babies. It's close to everything comforting in their world and it gives me the most scenic outlook of the beautiful life I live. By the time you found this special spot, it had been broken in and much loved by your bother and sister like a special blankie or family heirloom passed down from one child to the next. This must have made it all the more special, because you, my baby, have lived here longer than your siblings.

In the heat of the day, your little feet hardly touch the ground as you blow from one room to another like the force of nature that you are, but in the waking hours of the morning and in the calm tides of the evening your settle back into you nest for a little bit of home. I'm trying to hold on to every bit of it, because I know looming around a season or two is the day that you'll be too big for me to carry. And then, like Silverstein's tree, I'll have to bend my branches and settle for a cuddle on the sofa.

Happy birthday my sweet Benjamin. I can't believe that you are two today and there's nothing I can do about it. I have enjoyed every exhausting second of your life and I would not wish for it any other way.

I love you,

Mom

June 16, 2011

Day Seven

2011-06-30T07:51:00.001-05:00

Days Four thru Six

2011-06-29T18:01:00.001-05:00

A little better. I'm almost certain that my mood is on the upturn. During the day I'm great. Lots of energy, happy, not hungry at all. Then after all my peeps are in bed and the living room god starts luring me in with it's intoxicating glow, and I want meat...and bread...with salt and maybe some chocolate. I'm trying, I really am and I think when I walk away from this raw business, I'll make some big changes to my diet, but I won't ever be 100% raw. More on this later.

Guess who's back. Yeah, who were we kidding? I have three kids under the age of 6, I NEED coffee. I did discover vanilla flavored coconut milk instead of cream.

Good Seasons make these spice packets for dressing and all you do is add oil and vinegar. I think I'm so used to ordering ranch dressing that I've been missing out on a lot of flavor. This salad is cucumber, tomato, avocado and a garlic salsa dressing.

Fruit salad: Strawberries, blueberries, bananas and a splash of vanilla coconut milk.

Day Two and Three

2011-06-26T23:19:00.001-05:00

So what happened was...

Day two: Same as day one for breakfast and lunch, but I had a salad for dinner this time. The no caffeine did get to me so I broke down and had a coffee. The conversation in my head involved some correlation between caffeine, enemas and a healthy digestive system. So chug, chug!

Day three: Yummy fruit salad, green smoothie and then... dum,dum,dum... BBQ at my parents! I went prepared with a edamame salad and cantaloupe tossed in coconut milk and mint for dessert. So what happened was...I ate my salad and fruit, but I had a burger too! gah. Tomorrow's another day. Starting over.

Raw-r

2011-06-25T13:28:00.001-05:00

If you've read even a few posts on this blog, you've figured out that I'm not the steady and consistent type. I often have way out there ideas and follow them with all gusto I can manage, then I'm done and it fizzles out. I know this is not a sought out characteristic and in all honestly I try really hard to follow through and be THAT person, but lets just call it the duck that it is - genius!! Really, who wants to do the same thing for-ev-er?? I just can't waste my time doing stuff that I don't want to anymore and I can't not try new things, because I'm afraid that I won't like it and quit. I'm sure there's some clever little saying like, "It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all" but for life experiences instead of love, but I'm already bored with this post so I don't feel like looking it up.

All that to say, I'm in a rut and going to try something new. The raw food diet. Only for two weeks. Surprise!! I think the idea is that eating "live foods" help your body cleanse, heal and a whole bunch of awesome things. For me, I need a good cleanse - physically, emotionally, motivationally.... My weight loss has hit a plateau, I'm emotionally blah and I'm just in a rut. Also, I told my friend Emily about two years ago that I would try vegetarianism. So now that she's trying meat, I thought it only fitting to go the other way. Wish me luck!

Day One:

I'm doing okay. Lots of fruit, no coffee, big yummy salad and I tried a green smoothie (yum). I did go out tonight and struggled with what to order. I ended up with a Greek salad (cheese is not on the plan) and grilled falafel (cooked food is a no no ) BUT I didn't eat meat!!

The no theme, theme

2011-06-20T10:26:00.001-05:00

My poor third baby. After pirate princess, dinosaur,Nemo, Curious George, superhero and mermaid parties, I guess I'm tapped out. Benjamin had a low key first birthday, like Allie and Martin, but then all I could come up with for his big boy two year old party was... dirt. Really there is nothing else this kid likes more than to get dirty. Well, maybe to get wet. So, wet and dirty, that's all I've got and it doesn't make for a solid birthday theme. I know, I know he'll live and really, he DID have an awesome party.

Bright and colorful, just like my baby. Thanks Tiffany for another awesome invite. http://www.miragreetings.com/

Games and things Benjamin loves to do:

WATER: We rented a slip-n-slide from a family friend (Angel's Moonwalks) and it was the best idea for a summer birthday. EVERYone from the birthday boy to his 63 year old uncle had a blast.

Getting dirty: With all the shovels and dump trucks the kids had a good'ole dirty time at the sand table.

Balls!!! We filled up our baby pool with a little bit of water and a ton of balls.

Hitting things! Fortunatly for his bother and sister, this time it was a pinata.

Things Benjamin loves to eat!

Ben's favorite foods: hot dogs, fruit and chips! I bought these little fast food baskets and lined them with butcher paper for an easy clean up.

Snow cones!
I bought a little Sunbeam snow cone maker from Target. Great investment for summer! I made the syrup with a simple syrup mixture and two koolaid packets. No highfrutose corn syrup here!

Lemonade!! This is so much easier than box drinks and sodas!

I know it's hard to tell, but he just destroyed a piece of watermelon!

In honor of Benjamin loving to be dirty, I made dirt cake in individual dump trucks. The trucks also served as the party favor.

And messes they made...

And his favorite thing of all...fun time with good friends.

Thanks kids for helping us celebrate Ben's second birthday!

So I guess we did have a theme after all. "All things Ben". Love you baby.

Batman Birthday

2011-03-30T17:01:00.000-05:00

Martin LOVES Batman and so we invited a few friends over for hotdogs, cupcakes and some play time in the jump house. Fun times!

Thanks again Tiffany http://www.miragreetings.com/. Everyone LOVED the invites.

Batman pinata from SanAntonio, thanks to Uncle Jorge and Renzo. The kids took their candy home in superhero cups for their party favors.

Gotham City chocolate cake with super hero and super villian toppers. Cake Doctor saves me every time!

I bought some old comic books and made the toppers with all the superheros.

The kids wore their superhero costumes which in retrospect wasn't such a good idea for the bouce house.

Lots of superhero toys!

Holy Birthday Batman!

2011-03-23T14:49:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a year. I had to go back and read my letter to you last year, because it seems impossible that one person could have changed so much in one tiny, twelve month year. I can't believe that with every year that passes, I'm continually surprised with how fast you guys grow up. You'd think that after five years, it wouldn't catch me off guard, but sure enough, twelve months later, here I am writing about how shocked I am that you've grown up so much. This past year, my writing has all but ceased and I'm trying my damnedest to make time for it. Unlike my fellow scrapbooking and journaling mom friends, I don't have the patience to freeze time on paper. This is my record, my tribute to every horrible and wonderful moment I want to capture and remember. And now that it's been three months since I've started this entry, I'm determined to finish it, because, baby boy, I want to remember our moments. The moments between three and four that helped me know you better, the moments I smile about later while daydreaming, the moments that hopfully I'll remember and be able to retell many years from now to my future grandchildren.

The day you were born, one of the first decipherable sentences that came out of my mouth was, "Look babe, he's like a little old man." You were so long and skinny, but with the face of a little old man. It was almost like you knew what this whole world was about already and you were annoyed that us young folk were messin' with your rest time. I still see this approach to life dominate your personality. I think for the first three years of your life, you've been trying to tell me who you are, but I just didn't hear you.

Look at that little old man face.

Well baby boy, we hear you, loud and clear. This past year, you've found your voice. You know exactly who you are and I naively have been trying to teach and mold you to function in this world, when I should have been quietly listening to you tell me who you are and how this world will function with you in it.

Your first sleepover with the Hall girls.

Baby boy, you amazing me. Your unwillingness to yeild to social standards and people's expectations makes me rethink my actions. Your determination to follow through with a task once you've commited inspires me. Your clever humor amuses me and your tendenancy to be selective in who you love but not how much you love favors me. I love you and everything you are. Happy birthday Martin James.

"nana-nana-nana----bad mood"

O"fish"al swimmer certificate

Goofy boy

yeah, lots of catching up, but first...

2011-02-05T00:50:00.003-06:00

Five days until Christmas

2010-12-20T18:44:00.002-06:00

Feliz Navidad

2010-12-12T21:24:00.002-06:00

What? It's December already???? We ARE alive and busy with Advent. Thirteen more days until Christmas...

Balance

2010-10-25T19:58:00.003-05:00

I was just telling my mom that I remember when I only had Allie and while she would take a nap in the afternoon I would clean my house like Martha Stewart's daughter-in-law on Thanksgiving Eve. Now I just turn my head in shame when I see Martha's face on the grocery store check out rack. I'm still in survival mode. Kindergarten is ok. I'm still not too excited about Allie being in our school system, and I'm having issues with the right balance of book education and character education that I want for my family, but to be honest I think I'll struggle with this the entire time my babies are in school and maybe some more. I am however, enjoying all of the excitement about "homework".

...and to even out all that chaos *up there* I bento and I love it! Allie does too. She finishes her lunch about 80% of the time! A mom told me she saw Allie and her best friend sharing cucumbers in the lunchroom. Love it!

Shopping Fun

2010-09-24T20:39:00.005-05:00

I love to spend money. I know, I know. Every possible emotional and psychological syndrome that I could possible have is on your checklist of "WTH is wrong with her" now. I don't care because I'm not going to try and figure it out or fix it. Because I love to shop. Well the SAHM thing, kinda threw a kink in my game. No worries. Over the last 5 years I've worked through the combo of need and guilt. I shop for groceries! Need without the guilt. Plus, we can stretch a trip to Whole Foods or Costco into a half day event. Play, samples, shop, visit with the old people who love to swoon over my kids, borrow(read: pretend to buy) new toys, eat, and then naps on the way home. Really, you can't beat it. Don't laugh.

Whole Foods even has an eating area, playground AND a meals worth of samples!

Oh AND entertainment!! This day PBS showed up and had games, balloons, and Cat in the Hat!
I don't even think Martin hears a drummer. His beat is more along the lines of a triangle or tambourine. He insists on getting a "sad face" every time we got to Costco ~~which is every week~~ . I know. Happy face would be too... normal. Martin does not do normal. Normal is not cool.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-09-20T23:29:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday sweet girl!

2010-09-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

My sweet Allie,

I think I've opened this page up at least 20 times trying to find the right words to say to you. The most overwhelming part of it is that this birthday was a huge milestone for me. I feel like I've given you away. To the world. You're not all mine anymore and as much as I love to see you grow into the person you're meant to be, I'm really sad that I have to share. Most days when I climb into bed to tuck you in, I kiss your sweet little face and I have to stop myself from wishing it was just you and me again. Hours of cuddling and playing dress up. Playing loud music and dancing while folding laundry. Wrapping you up in a carrier so no one could touch you and struttin' down the isles of Target with my feathers all puffed out like a proud momma hen. I miss that. The simpleness of just being your mom and no one else.

Now it's time to share. You spend more waking hours under the wing of another and I'm adjusting. I guess I knew all along that you are too wonderful of a person to keep to myself and I was right. You're my sunshine, my rainbow after the storm. I love you. Don't grow up too fast.

Wonder Woman Birthday Party

2010-08-31T12:21:00.011-05:00

Ok, I almost didn't list this blog, because really, do my friends and family need all this information and links? No, but I had a hell of a time finding Wonder Woman party ideas out there in the big, bad world of cyberspace, so... I'm going to do it for the moms out there who's daughters are tired of princesses, Dora, and hula girls. Here's to girl power!

Wonder Woman Invitations: Again Tiffany at Miragreetings rocked them out!

The table: I love cupcakes because they are so easy. So I had plain vanilla cupcakes with red, white and blue swirled icing. I also made a small cake with blue icing to put her WonderWoman peg doll and sparkler candles on. I wanted to top it with a Wonder Woman doll but those are $$$$$ so I just painted one after I saw this on etsy. I covered the table in a red, white and blue tablecloth. Our party favors are in the yellow bucket which had red, white and blue star ring pops from Oriental Trading.

Costumes: I didn't want to make capes, because I HATE sewing satin and I HATE cutting large amounts of fabric. So I settled on towel capes. Oh and I HATE sewing velcro. I know hate is probably too strong of a word, but after making 30 sandwich bags I was done with all the sewing. Anyways, I took a towel, sewed on the back logo out of felt, sewed on a button and little loop of elastic! Done. I also made Allie a crown and she had to have the arm cuffs.

Balloons: There are none for Wonder Woman. Red, white and blue stars plus a big 5 balloon.

Cake: The reason everyone will be pooping green the next day. =) It's not hard but I saw the idea here. I also had my first encounter with fondant. Easy. Expensive. I just rolled out the store bought stuff and cut out some stars to go on the cake.

Banner- I saw this awhile ago on Salt Water Kids and loved it for holidays. I thought it would go well with the whole Wonder Woman, America's female hero, theme so I whipped it up in time for the party.

Food - We had the all Amercian party food: hot dogs, chips and lemonade. My mom also brought the kids red, white an blue Popsicles. Oh, and watermelon!

Plates and such - I used my Preserve red and blue plates and cups. I also used our cloth napkins I made awhile back. Curious George party

So really the theme was American superhero, but shhh we won't tell Allie that.

Oh, and sorry about the post from yesterday. I was typing out Allie's letter and she decided to add to it. Now it's gone. So I'll be starting over tonight. Until then, her post will have to do. =)

Baby Girl,

2010-08-30T06:38:00.002-05:00

allie riocijufrijbkoioio2kpoenjr-0o

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings. ~Hodding Carter, Jr

2010-08-23T12:48:00.008-05:00

Getting ready. I'm not smiling because I'm a nervous wreck!

She was a little nervous the night before, but in the morning she was beyond excited. Like annoying excited.

I think she was done with pictures by now.

I should NOT be sick to my stomach, but I am and the two cups of diesel coffee at Chickfila didn't help. My baby, my sweet little girl, mi corazon left me today. I know it shouldn't feel this way. I KNOW she's going to have a ton of fun, make new friends and maybe learn some stuff but I'm going to miss her so much. We've been each other's buddy for five years now. Until this day, we've spent almost every waking moment together. She's my helper, my buddy, my shadow, my world. And for all of you rolling your eyes and saying that it's not healthy for your kids to be your world, let me just say... wait. Just wait until they place your first born in your arms and you can't breathe. Your whole life doesn't change; you are born. Wait until you spend the first three months of her life jumping out of bed because you think you hear her crying. When you're begging for just a moment of peace and quiet and then she's gone and you can't wait to see her again. Just wait until they take your heart out of your chest and place it in hers. You are never whole again, because pieces of you are walking around in this big scary world that you cannot control. Just wait, you'll see, you'll know and you wouldn't have it anyother way.

I guess, if I stop and calm down a bit, once the caffeine wears off, I know that even if I could control everything I wouldn't because then her life wouldn't be anywhere close to wonderful. But right now the excitement, fear and pain are just jumbled up into tears. I miss my baby and I have exactly two hours to dry my face and suck it up before I have to paste my smile on and gather up the little piece of my heart that has been gone all day.

Happy First Day of School baby girl.

I don't care who you are, that's funny!

2010-08-16T10:48:00.003-05:00

And, since they are in the same pool of pictures, look at my baybee. He's losing his baby chub.

"They're here" - Carol Ann in Poltergeist

2010-08-09T23:26:00.004-05:00

"The T.V. people"
You know, Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, and Buddy from Dinosaur Train.

Where have I been you ask ( I know because I'm such a consistent blogger)? Well, we've been busy worshiping our new idol!

Doesn't this picture remind you of the movie "Poltergeist" "They're baaaaack...."

From small screen to shrinking machine

2010-07-31T06:36:00.001-05:00

What to do on a rainy afternoon, after naps but before Daddy's home, you ask? You guys are really in sync with me, in my mind.

Well, you Shrinky Dink!!! That's what you do.

Cashing out!

2010-07-30T06:10:00.001-05:00

I knew there was a reason "pool time" and "sprinkler nights" counted as a bath!!! From about 8 months to 20-ish months my kids get a minimum of three baths a day. More if we have messy snacks. I think we've earned them, so I'm cashing out.

Pool definitely counts.

Puddle jumping counts as long as we rinse off with the hose after.

Hose time outside counts!

Beach counts. Just kidding. But the outdoor shower does count.

No T.V. land

2010-07-28T05:18:00.000-05:00

Right after this picture, someone skipped someone, cards were thrown and lollipop guy is scarred for life.

Magical City

2010-07-26T22:06:00.004-05:00

I talk a lot about wanting to move out of the big city but the truth is that I want to live in a magical city where we have all the diversity and culture of a big city, only it's small, everyone knows their neighbors and there's lots of room for the kids to run and be wild. Anyone know of this place? And I know what you're thinking, but no, the suburbs don't count.

Miller Outdoor Theater - Jack and the Beanstalk put on Children's Express Theater

Herman Park - I know. There are no ducks. I think the screaming and huge chunks of bread pegging them in the head, scared them off. The pigeons, on the other hand, were on the attack!

No T.V: Week Four

2010-07-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

Our ginormous tv is dead. We had a love-hate thing going on. Hubby bought it before we were married and I HATED it but loved him. Love-hate. For the last year, ginormo has been teasing us with a prolonged death. Losing some color here and there, then a speaker in and out and the whole time I was dreaming of another. Smaller, thinner, and mounted. But the damn thing held on for almost a year! Alas, the dinosaur came down. A month ago and we have yet to welcome that sleek and sexy new tv into our home. At first it was a battle of wills, between my husband and myself. I wanted small, and discreet. He wanted huge and manly. Whoever could go the longest without could pick the tv. Then I caved. He laughed. I got mad and changed my mind. We still don't have a tv.

Our lives have changed. After the first week the kids stopped asking to watch Dora and Diego. After the second week they woke in the morning anticipating which games to play that day and Daddy started planning activities for after dinner. Some time in the third week I had a breakdown, but after that stopped crying. (Really, this no tv thing wasn't a we-are-too-smart-and-inspired-to-watch-tv thing. We aren't sitting around having cumbaya moments with each other or anything. I wanted to WIN but I caved first. So when Daddy laughed, I was a sore loser and threw a fit. Now it's just pride carrying me out to sea.) Now we are on week four with no tv and I think we've come over the hump. We'll see. If this part of my post is missing in a few weeks you know it got worse.

Busy living

2010-07-22T13:15:00.011-05:00

... more like surviving.

I know there were short lapses of time *haha* between my blog posts so far this year. Buuut (me whining like my four year old, because for some reason it's catching. Like that song, "This is the song that never ends..., it goes on and on my friend..." You know the one. Yeah, you'll be singing it all day. HA!) Ok, so yeah, buuuuuuut we still did a lot of livin', even though I wasn't able to actually sit and upload pictures, or write about them or even remember my name. Don't worry, my kids remind me hourly that it's "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaa". Got it!

Anyways, my life always looks great in a montage. So without further ado, here is a picture montage of my life for the last six plus months. Enjoy.

You did it!

2010-07-15T10:02:00.004-05:00

Your big boy cake! 18 days without your toot and still counting.

I have tons of pictures over the years of you just like this one. It was part of you, what you needed, and what eventually would send me into a panic when it went missing. So, alas the time came when it was lost for good and you had to leave behind a little more of your babyhood in order to venture into the big, scary world of boy-dom. Goodbye toot, you will be missed.

Allie and Nana

2010-07-12T07:32:00.002-05:00

N: Allie, go get some panties and pajamas for bed.
A: NO! Just panties.
N: Are you going to sleep in just your panties? No pajamas?
A: Yup, I like to sleep in just my panties..... Nana?
N: hmmm?
A: You know, momma doesn't even wear panties to bed? Really. uhhuh.
........................................................................................................................

Well, that's the story told by Allie repeated by Nana, in front of me for my husband's amusement.

How can I share with the whole world of 11 people who read this, you ask? In turn, I ask you: Could it get worse than my MIL knowing I sleep without panties? Well yes, there was that time my Mom found my vibrator.

Benjamin, Benito, Big Ben, Papito, Papas...

2010-06-16T08:18:00.002-05:00

My last, sweet, little snuggly baby. Just thinking about you being a year old makes my heart ache a little. My hurricane baby. And good god, there are no better words to explain how our lives have changed. Your life began in the quiet peace of our home surrounded by the chaos after a storm and I think this describes you very well. I think from the moment you were placed in my arms I knew our world had been turned more than upside down, but you, you were solid, steady and sure. You exhaled peace and calmness and if I held you close enough I could feel it too. I still can. It's amazing how you have brought exactly what I never knew we needed into our family.

My sweet Benjamin, you are such a giving child. You cuddle, love to be held, laugh softly and are perfectly content just being next to me. You are mellow and tough and what I imagine will be the strong and silent type when you are a grown man. You give so much of yourself, that by the end of the day it takes all that you have left to crawl into my arms and nurse and cuddle until you can replenish your spirit.

You have been such an easy baby amidst all the chaos in our house. It's so easy for you to not have a schedule or to get right back up when your brother or sister gets a little too rough. You are a survivor and I'm almost certain that's the reason you walked one day shy of eleven months. You had to. You are loved and I think you know it. Sometimes, I worry that we don't get enough time alone to do all of those skill building activities outlined in my parenting books and magazines, but then I hear you calling, "Allie", your first word, because you want to dance too, or I see you building towers with Martin, and I know. I know you are the luckiest of the three. You are Benjamin, my last son, the baby. You are loved.

Now that I've completed my motherly duty and told the world of how wonderful you are, I must also mention that while my world has been upside down and I was hanging on for dear life, I did have a moment or two where I was able to watch you closely and really know you. I had it wrong that first day we met. You are not simply the calm after the storm, but you are the storm as well. You see, your sister is clever and personable. She makes friends easy and jumps in over her head on most occasions. Your brother is stubborn and more determined than anyone I know. But you are patient and strong. It takes a lot to upset you and you function well out of your comfort zone. You have shown no fear and I'm afraid you don't have any. It's almost as if you've been watching your whole life, just waiting to let loose on the world. You are the storm out in the gulf, that moves slow and grows steadily stronger. I see you coming but I'm not prepared. In three very short months, you have climbed to the top bunk, scaled the playground slides, mastered jumping on the beds, hurdled the bathtub, and many other life threatening feats that I choose to block out. I'm a little scared. You are not.

So you see my sweet boy, it's only fitting for us to be here, at the beach, celebrating your first birthday. You will forever be our little hurricane. So strong and fascinating, yet, you move slow and with a strong potential for destruction. I am in awe of you and though I'm a little nervous about our years to come, I can't wait to see what beauty and excitment you bring into our lives. I love you my Benito and I couldn't imagine a more wonderful person to round out our family.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy

2010-03-17T14:02:00.001-05:00

My sweet boy, you are three today! We made it. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. I love you more than I ever imagined possible. Your Daddy asked me the other day in the midst of all the birthday craziness of making 15 dinosaur invitations and dinosaur tails, who I was trying to impress. I tried to explain in some rational way, how or why I set these impossibly ridiculous criteria for your birthday celebrations and lives for that matter, but I failed miserably. "I just want them to have the best" doesn't cover it for some reason. I love life and I love you guys. I want to share everything I love about life with you and your brother and sister so you can be as happy as I am. I remember the pure joy of being celebrated on my birthday. Complete indulgence with donuts for breakfast, cake for dinner, the magic of seeing a fish tank and Rainbow-Brite on my bedside the moment I popped my eyes open. I want it all for you too.

And by all I don't mean all the latest craptastic toys, an over scheduled extra curricular life, the biggest, most expensive, loudest, most competitive, my kids have it better than your kids, life. I want you to feel the pure joy of all the simply beautiful things that life has to offer. Happiness, love, sorrow, nature, family, friends, magic and mystery.

This time between two and three has been so magical for me as a mother because I've been watching you go from a sure and steady toddler who engulfed the world around him to a young child who is taking a closer look at all the things you missed in your frenzy to know everything. You are learning how to interact with the world and we are learning who you are and what tickles you fancy. I'm learning. You're a perfectionist, you embarass easily, you love attention but don't want us to know it, you don't like tv, you can't whisper, you need control and you're picky but the ones you choose you love hard.

Today, when I get a quiet moment I'll stop and remember the day you came into this world and how carefully I planned every detail of your birth. You see, with your sister, I had no idea, I mean NO idea what I was in for. Yeah, we took the classes and read the book and unfortunately, heard the stories, but there's just no preparing for something like that and five years ago I had some major issues with not being able to prepare. So, nineteen months later when you were coming ON your due date... just like I planned... I was ready. I had a checklist for everything and another checklist to tell me or whoever needed it, in which order to do the checklists. Done. But you, you were someone I could not prepare for. In all of my years of studying child development, and teaching, and reading parenting books, I was and am not prepared for you. You have changed me and how I see life more than your siblings.

You are this rock in my river that springs up all of these ripples and forces me to part my waters. I am changed in so many ways. Yes, I have less hair and even some more grays, but I have also parted ways with my expectations of myself because that person is not who you need. I am here for you, because you need me and even though I haven't figured it all out yet, I know that I won't ever stop trying. I love you. The real you; not the you, I planned for you to be. Happy birthday my big three year old. I can't wait to what you've got planned for us this year!

Rockin' in the New Year

2010-01-10T10:56:00.001-06:00

Talk about last minute

2009-12-01T16:00:00.004-06:00

Well it's that time of year again and the kids are so excited to see the Advent calendar out. It's not up yet but it's out!! This was my favorite part of the season last year and I'm hoping that I can follow through with it this year, seeing as how I can't get it together this year. Man, I was so on top of it last year. If you'll notice some of the harder activites are replaced with much easier stuff this year. Here's our list so far.

1. Decorate tree.

2. Write a letter to Santa

3. Holiday in the Park

4. Make an Advent wreath

5. Christmas party with friends and family. Give Santa our list.

6. Celebrate St. Nicholas Day

7. Buy our ornament for the year

8. Make ornaments with our playgroup. I'm thinking of this one OR this one.

9. Make pine cone trees.

10. Make magazine trees OR bows.

11. Hang mistletoe and start kissing.

12. Moody Garden's Festival of Lights

13. Make presents for grandparents

14. Call grandparents and sing Christmas carols

15. Make gift tags

16. Read a Christmas book and drink hot chocolate

17. Decorate gingerbread men.

18.Drive around to see Christmas lights and listen to Christmas music.

19. Breakfast with Santa at the zoo.

20. Make tamales with my family.

21. Watch a Christmas movie.

22. Cookie baking party. Friends come over and we all bake, eat and listen to Christmas music.

23. Discovery Green watch ice skaters and try hot apple cider.

24. Christmas Eve party!

Happy Turkey Day

2009-11-26T11:25:00.002-06:00

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

2009-11-17T01:36:00.005-06:00

- Dori from Nemo

Just a few things.

Allie is a ballet school drop out. This is one of those 'I knew it' moments. Little girls in pink tights and tutus are oh so cute, but come on, really? That's a lot of moolah for playing dress up. And don't even get me started on the fees for a recital. Sorry, crazy serious dance instructor of four year olds, but my kids need clothes for the winter. So, other than money, I knew Allie would get bored and want to quit ballet and guess what? We had a major melt down last Monday because she didn't want a bun in her hair and couldn't be dragged kicking and screaming to ballet class. Se la vie, ballet class.

Benjamin's teeth are out!!!!! And now life can commence. Good grief I forgot how you cease to function when your baby teethes.

This week is school tour week where we look at all the schools Allie could go to next year for kindergarten. Someone just shoot me. I'll have to survive the bullshit and "super-duper" annoying parents before I can share my misery with you. So if you don't hear from me by the end of the week, please send help because I might have taken all the school applications and paper cut myself to death.

Apple

2009-11-09T09:23:00.000-06:00

On of the most embarassing things about being Mexican American is that I don't speak Spanish. Really this is one of the only things that I'm embarassed about; I handle it one of two ways when people ask me about it: I ignore the question or make a smartass comment. The truth is that my parents raised us in a city that didn't embrace being bilingual -my how times have changed- so we were taught English in order to be successful in the place where we lived. I AM successful and so are my brothers. Growing up with a smack across the knuckles from your teacher for speaking Spainsh, my parents could never in a million years have imagined that not speaking Spanish would be such a pain. But it is.

In a city where I think the majortiy is Hispanic (it's hard to tell because in the census my race is white, but ethnicity is Hispanic. So white is the majority, but that includes Hispanics) people assume that my kids and I speak Spanish. Talk about pouring salt on an open wound. But while I'm in a corner licking my wounds my brillient daughter who so desperatly needs to relate to every person she encounters has just closed the gap on her lack of knowledge. If mommy isn't going to teach her spanish, gosh darnit she'll just make it up! Nothing will stop this child from making friends!

When she first starting doing this I would run and hang my head in shame, but I've had a change of heart and now I just stand next to her and smile like I understand everything she's saying and the person she's talking to is nuts for not understanding. **We are currently looking for Mommy and Me Spanish classes.**

A week at home

2009-11-06T10:26:00.008-06:00

Well it definitely wasn't uneventful. It was mostly nice but I can't say calm or relaxing were on the list of adjectives I'd use to describe my week.

Slow breakfasts

Time to practice crawling

Time to be goofy

And of course, time to play with some of our forgotten toys

There was also time for lots of not so fun stuff for mom:

Martin pooped in the backyard.

Allie then had to pee outside, except, you know, on herself.

The one time we did go out to the park, my car was broken into.

Doctor's visit because of code red crying but it turns out it was just Benito getting his first tooth.

Allie and Martin ran away on their first adventure without me. A heart attack and two spankings later we now understand that adventures can only happen within the confines of the safe and boring backyard.

Allie reorganized her closet.

Martin decorated his new (read: $$$$) bunk beds with stickers.

Four swine flu shots,

Three screaming kids,

Two runny noses...... and a yard full of dead t-r-e-e-s!!!

Come on sing it with me...... and a yard full of dead t-r-e-e-s!!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

2009-11-04T13:30:00.006-06:00

but lucky for me, the words your mind is evoking are chalk full of happiness, smiles and maybe some laughter. Yeah, isn't funny how the pictures of our life seem to blur out the yelling, fighting, tantrums and headaches?

And now it's Mommy's turn...

What the hell!?

2009-10-24T10:53:00.001-05:00

What's that saying? "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

Allie dresses and undress a.l.l.d.a.y.l.o.n.g. And yes it was just as painful for me to type all of those periods as it is for me to wash all the extra laundry. This outfit is actually "in" though. I double checked the other day, by checking out some teenagers. Who would have ever thought the 80's would come back? I'm throwing in the rag and dressing crazy with her. Who knows it might even be the "in thing" this fall. Fairy princess/pirate/tea party? It could catch on... Someone who has time to keep up with that stuff should post and let me know. Thanks.

Martin is all about his penis right now. He wants it free to experience the world without barriers just like his hands. I guess I can't blame him. I'll spare you the pictures, though- my husband would kill me and I'm sure it's illegal, too. On this day, he felt like his two favorite things should be housed together. Yeah, we had a little talk about protecting mommies future grandkids.

Benito loves his chi chi. I've tried stretching out feedings, crying, a little formula. He's a stubborn little fella and willing to let everyone know it! Whatever!!! I give up!!!

I'm walking around topless with a bebe on my boob, Martin bare butt to the wind like a Scottsman and Allie dressed like the crazy ladies in Grey Gardens. At least the rolls are cute? Well they're all kinda cute, that's why I keep them around. So if you have the stomach to come a callin', please wait about 15minutes for us to open the door after you ring the bell. We'll all be running around getting decent.

I've lost my mojo

2009-10-21T23:39:00.001-05:00

I just can't get my swing back.

I decided to cave to peer pressure and enroll my kids in a few classes. Normally, I'd say I'm a play-outside-because-it's-free-and-good-for-you kinda mom and really? aren't classes this young kinda like sex in the hot tub? A waste of time, but you keep trying because somewhere you heard it was fun. Yeah, I quit. We'll wait a few more months and try again... just like we did with...

I feel like I'm just chasing my tail all day long. With the intense swim classes... which totally make me feel like a loser mom who can't keep the house clean, the clothes washed and the peoples fed just because I threw one measly 30 min. class into my schedule... my house is messy and I swear every time I wash the damn clothes they just multiply instead of actually get cleaned and put away. Oh and throw in a little boy who strips down every turn of the hour, a little missy who has a minimum of three tea parties a day - with water - and a bebe who didn't get the memo that it's time to eat every 4-5 hours instead of 2! and there you have it ladies and gents... where I've lost my mojo. I have fond memories of being able to handle it all. Clean floors. Homemade meals. Smiling and laughing with the kids. Brushing my teeth before noon. I'll spare you some of the other details, lest they get back to my extended family which would only result in lots of tsk, tsks and secret phone calls. But there is hope. I quit swim classes to the cheers of a little man in the house - and momma too!-, the weather's nice and if I can just clean my house I might be able to find where in the hell I put my mojo. I'd love to have it back.

A few good finds

2009-10-06T22:39:00.004-05:00

When I get a few hours to myself this is what I enjoy doing. A "new" kitchen stool for my babies to sit on while helping me cook. A few cute hankies for our runny noses this fall and a desk for all sorts of coloring and playing school.

2009-09-29T07:56:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have days when you want more... or less... maybe just different? That strong urge to turn something completely upside down is festering in me right now and I have no idea how it will manifest itself. Redecorating? Moving? Career change? Lifestyle change? Hubby is scared.

Sky in the hillcountry, Texas.

Whoa there Nelly

2009-09-26T09:04:00.001-05:00

You know how one moment things are running as smooth as they can.? Everyone, eats, bathes, and things seems almost normal? But as soon as you think it... as soon as you say... "Oh, everything's gr..reaaa..... " It all blows up? Yeah, that's where I've been. My kids were abducted by aliens... or wait maybe their Changelings ... no, I think they have to be babies to be Changelings *... well, then just Benjamin, the other two were abducted, but either way it's been a little crazy here with every body having a new catch phrase and all the adjusting that goes with that! So on any given day at any given moment insert these new phrases into any of your family's conversations and well, you'll be us.

Hubby: Fan-tas-tic!! (yes, super annoying. you can see my eyes rolling already, huh?)
Me: Are you kidding me!?!
Allie: What-e-ver (really she's only FOUR!)
Martin James: No I do it!
Benjamin: whaaaaaa ::snort, snort:: whaaaaaa

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Background: It's early evening and hell has broken loose. Hubby just got home and wants to play with the kids. We are supposed to be at Mimi's house in five minutes for my Dad's birthday. Kids just woke up from a nap and need to get dressed. Baby is crying.

Me: Ok, guys let's get ready to go to Mimi's. Allie your clothes are on the bed, start getting dressed. Martin let's go to the potty before we leave.
Hubby: grumbling. Fan-tas-tic
Allie: What-ev-er Mom!
Me: Eyes buggin' out. grunts Are you kidding me?
In the bathroom.
Me: Ok Buddy, let me...
Martin: NO!! I do it!!You go by door. Leave me lone.
Me: Ok, but just let me...
Martin: NOOOOO I DO IT!!
Me: Fine, let's get to it. (I laugh to myself. Haha that rhymes)

Martin get's his underwear down in a record two minutes and gets on the pot. He's adjusted himself accordingly and starts to pee... all over me. Somehow it escaped through the hole between the two seats. **Really someone needs to invent a pee-through-the-hole-blocker!!*

Me: ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!
Hubby: (running to the scene of the crime) Wha?? Sees pee all over me, floor, and with the aide of some magical talent -I don't know, maybe inherited- on the WALL. Fan-tas-tic.
Me: Yeah (rolling eyes). You're turn!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So yeah, where was I... We've had normal crazies here with a new personality joining the group and then throw in Hubby's new health problem, a four day trip to SeaWorld with a three month old, a wonky computer, newly potty trained two year old and a teething baby and whaaalaa! No time to blog. So here's the last two weeks in pictures, because I've at least uploaded those.

Yeah so maybe not. Someone ::coughhubbycough:: took more pictures of the animals than our kids.

First family picture. Yup! Starting Jillian's Shred videos on Monday.

Calling Shamoo

Petting and feeding the dolphins.

That's all folks!

* I'm reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and I LOVE it. So yeah, that's where the poem from earlier and "changeling" came from.

2009-09-25T08:54:00.003-05:00

I bid thee farewell my summer.
You were harsh and quick with your fiery lashes.
And now when our finger tips are reaching out for just one last touch,
I know I will miss you 'til next summer,
When we can tumble in our torturous union once again.

Silence is Golden

2009-09-12T23:21:00.009-05:00

Well except for when I need to make an appointment or answer the phone....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I woke up on Wednesday mute. Not even a crack in my voice. Gone. The first thing that erupted in my mind was How in the hell am I going to yell at my kids? But then I remembered when I lost my voice as a teacher, I managed 30 some odd kids and they all listened and we didn't burn the building down so surely I could do it with three???

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So being mute for some reason has effected my ability to write. I don't know, maybe it's because I'm quiet and my mouth is directly connected to my brain? or fingers? Maybe all this peace and quiet has made me a normal, functional person and that leaves me with nothing to talk about. Maybe I'm so exhausted from having to listen to everyone all day since I can't tell them to shut up that I can't fathom the idea of interacting with more people even if it is just blogging or facebook?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Finally on Friday after perfecting my scary whisper-yell, I thought I could manage a Target run. Yeah, I know it's some sort of masochistic sickness. But you know what, we had a wonderful trip. Really, it was like I rented some kids and was in a parallel universe where the moms don't yell and the kids don't throw stuff, scream, or fight. And I even threw another ball into the pit, because my big boy Martin is no longer in diapers. So I was willing to bet my second born child ;) that he would have pooped on the floor or at least peed on someone. Nope. We all managed our bodily fluids like all-stars! I'm guessing since I couldn't run my mouth very much, the kids paid attention, that and when I DID parted my lips the voice of Zuul from Ghostbusters came out. Scary.

Oh but we couldn't leave Target without at least one head tilting event. My children we being angels in the produce section and some nice old lady wanted to squeeze their cheeks, of course. Now usually, I step in and guide my kids through a polite conversation and you know try to steer the pinching fingers away from the frightening children. Well I couldn't this time. Allie got ahead of me and I couldn't shout, "HEY, get your cheesy smelling hands off my kid!!!" So I did the second best thing and smiled while I drove our basket to rescue Allie. The lady in the meantime is asking Allie a question that apparently she didn't feel like answering because she was too busy picking bananas for us. She asked a few more times and since I couldn't get Allie's attention without pssst-ing, clapping or slamming my hand against my leg (I save the dog calls for home use only) I just smiled. What else could I do? So get this, the lady, looks straight at me, with Allie now in arms reach and says, "Oh yeah, she probably doesn't speak English." gah....!!!!!!*eyes popping out, jaw dropping* It's amazing what people will tell you when you don't stop them.

I mustered up all the voice I had managed to save that day and wasted it on three very clear words (well in my Zuul voice). "YES SHE DOES!" Those three words have set me back two days. Still no voice.

I'm filing this moment with the "Are you the nanny?" one.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
You tell them baby!! We've got a special kind of English for comments like that!!!

New Baby Crafts

2009-09-08T07:33:00.003-05:00

I finally did get around to my projects and my baby boy is so glad I did.

Bird Mobile - I've been wanting to make something to hang from Benito's hammock since he can see longer distances now. I saw this beautiful mobile on etsy but there was no way I could dish out the cash, so I made one. I loved all the different types of mobiles but decided on sleeping birds because Martin has a bird mobile and I just thought these "storybook" sleeping birds are soothing and easy to make. I also wanted to put a little bell or something inside the bird, but decided against it since my husband is a lite sleeper.

Taggie Blanket - I saw these tag blankets made with bags inside so they crinkle on Chasing Cheerios (tutorial here) and have to have a few. I used scrap ribbons and found a cute fat quarter to match and waaalaaaa! Benjamin loves it and now between the birds and blanket to keep him busy, I don't know what to do with myself!

Baby legwarmers - I found these long socks at Handcock and thought they'd be cute on Benito's chubby legs.

A Stolen Moment

2009-09-07T15:28:00.005-05:00

After an exciting day at the Science Museum the boys (I love saying that) were down for a nap, but my big four year old was wide awake. I was just about to sit down to a project when she picked up one of her birthday presents (Thanks Emily!) and asked if she could sew. We stopped time yesterday.

Things I'm Loving Right Now

2009-09-06T06:09:00.002-05:00

Vintage Baby Quilts

It makes me so happy to see my baby sprawled out on the blankets my mom saved from my childhood. It's almost inspiring enough to get me started making a few. At least three.

Soule Mamma's New book - Thanks Emily! (Oh and while you're visiting Emily, check out the adorable apron she made Allie)

Just flipping through this book makes me want to forgo sleep for days just to fit in a new project.

Creativity for Kids

I love doing projects that are plucked from our own imaginations and use only upcycled materials, buuuuuut it's not happening lately. I'm really trying to sneak in projects and puzzles into our day which by the way is very hard. So one day I pulled this Christmas gift from my mother in law, out of the closet during Benjamin's nap. The kids LOVED it!! All the supplies was right there, easy to do, cute puppets in less than an hour that the kids played with FOR hours! Then lo and behold, Allie unwraps a birthday present and now we have another one waiting for us when we can grab a few uninterrupted minutes! Create your own BOOK!!! How fun is that going to be?

Spinach Salad

When I was so lucky as to have friends bring me dinner after I had Benjamin, I was introduced to a new salad. It's so simple and easy to make. THANKS Star!!!

Salad:

Spinach

Toasted Almonds

Mandarin Oranges

Dressing:

1T Soy sauce

3T Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

1/2 cup of Canola Oil

1-2t. of Sesame Oil

Just a little sugar for the weekend

2009-09-04T18:04:00.000-05:00

Sea Princess (Mermaid) Party

2009-09-02T21:50:00.011-05:00

Yay the pictures are in. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this birthday thing. I've gone from parties that were very expensive and wasteful (2 year Nemo) to very handmade and wasteful (3 year Pirate Princess), then handmade, eco friendly but time consuming (2 year Curious George). This year, for Allie's fourth, I was able to reuse the decorations, plates etc. from Martin's Curious George Party and I only had to buy a few things to add to the mermaid theme. We had the party at our pool which was easier and harder all at the same time, but I think that everyone had a good time. The best part of the whole day was when Allie saw her cupcakes and said, "Mommy, THANK YOU!! They are so special to me." How did I get so lucky to have such a thankful child?

Invitations - Again Tiffany did an awesome job! Check her out at http://www.miragreetings.com/ Of course my expert photoshoping takes away from how perfect the invites were.

Cupcakes- I think I might have found my recipe. I made chocolate cupcakes, topped with crushed graham crackers and a marshmallow fondant star. I also made vanilla cupcakes with blue butter cream frosting and a fondant mermaid. Dontcha love Allie's helper?

Table - Once again I took horrible pictures. For the tables I used some white table clothes I had already, fish net and some sea shells. Mi familia.

Food - We kept it simple and had hot dogs, chips, watermelon, veggies and cucumber sandwiches. You know you love my pictures?!?! I just wanted to show you my food covers that I LOVE! Oh and my son's cute head.

Treat bags - I used a candy mold and made some chocolate seashells then packaged them in a bag with raw sugar to look like sand. I thought they were cute even though the picture sucks and I'll never give chocolate as a party favor at a pool party again. Why you ask? Too hot. Chocolate shells that took hours to make turns into a chocolate blob. Duh

Entertainment- The POOL!! Best idea ever.

Dear Baby Girl,

2009-08-30T22:03:00.003-05:00

"God, I can't believe she's four!" I've been thinking about what I want to write to you this year, and that's all that echos in my head. You're four today. Four. I find myself just staring at you, hypnotized, more and more these days. It reminds me of our first few months together at home. When your Daddy and I first brought you home, we would just hold you and sigh and stare and smile and then sigh again. Just like in the movies. The staring was because we were just so amazed that you were here and ours. It baffled me that I had this whole little person, who was completely dependent on me for everything and I had no clue about what to do...other than stare. The sigh was because I had to let some of the pure joy out or I would burst. Kinda like when you are lying down and have too much energy, so your body just has to jump! That's where my sighs came from. I was too happy and some of it had to be shared or I'd burst. The smiles were because I had no words to explain the changes that you brought into my life, and I had to do something with my nervousness, so I just smiled. It kept my mouth busy and my heart calm. Four years later and here I am again. I just stare, sigh and smile. You amaze me.

In the last twelve months, you have slowly gone from being my little person to just a little person. Every day you are becoming who you are destine to be, more and more. All the little nudges I give to mold you into the person I want you to be are now met with your own desires pushing back. Lots of pushing back, which usually involves some screaming, crying and maybe whining. Your personality is so full and dominant that I'm slowly realizing that my existence in your life is not to mold you, but simply to witness. When I was holding you inside me and dreaming about your little face, I tried so hard to pick a name that you would cherish the way I do my own name. Finally, one day your name, Alejandra, sang to me. It was just you and I couldn't explain why or how, but it just had to be. Now I know. Your name means "protector of mankind" and I can not think of three words that describe you more fully. Every day that I have the joy of watching you with the friends and family in your life I know they are blessed to have you too. I don't think I have ever known another person in my lifetime that loves more and with their whole being like you. It scares me. You love with your whole self, without discrimination. On the playground, when someone falls, you are the first one there to help them up and offer help. At the store, you bring smiles to lonely or stressed shoppers. At the party, you are the official greeter and entertainer with hugs, kisses, dancing and all. It's almost as if you exist to bring joy to those around you. It amazes me; you amaze me.

This year you became a big sister for the second time and I think I could see your heart swell right along with my belly. When I would cuddle with you during naps or bedtime, you would gently wrap your arm around my belly and talk to your baby with such excitement and he would throw a few kicks to let me know he loved you too. In all the craziness of this year, you have been my sanity many days, helping with Benjamin by just lying next to him and making him smile or coo when even I couldn't. He loves you. I think we all love more because of you.

So today, you're four and in my grown up mind which is always conscious of time, this means that I have one more year with you all to myself, before I have to hand you over to school. I'm a little sad. I'll never let you know this, but I'm going to miss you so much. You have been the biggest change in my life and I'm a little scared to let you go. From the moment I knew you existed, everything I knew about the world and my purpose in it changed. Political issues, environmental issues, creative urges, food ingredients, friendships, family relationships... every aspect of my life is now molded by your existence. I wouldn't change a thing. You are my first born and there aren't enough words to describe how special that is to me. Not more or less than how special your brothers are to me... just different. So in this next year, the year of four, I'm going to try my damnedest to slow time down a little bit more and just bask in all that is you. Alejandra, protector of mankind!

Doing something really wrong?

2009-08-26T16:08:00.004-05:00

Well I wasn't going to post today, but this one must be told...

I've gotta be messing up somewhere... I walked out of my room after having nursed and put the baby down, when I noticed that Martin was naked. Yeah, that's not the bad part...wait for it. Since it's not to uncommon for Martin to be naked, I didn't say anything. Allie and Martin were playing kitchen in her room... at first glance all seemed well aside from the airing out of little bits. Then upon closer scrutiny, I noticed Martin's diapers and wipes were strewn across the floor. Yup, he's still in diapers. Keep the comments to a whisper so I can't hear them. I heard the words, "Momma" and "Baby" somewhere there in the play talk, so I took a deep breath and asked, "Where's Martin's diaper?"

Why ask, you say? Well my gut instinct told me to walk away and pretend I didn't see anything. I could have enjoyed two kids playing and the baby asleep, but then I snapped out of it and realized that if indeed something was up, I should deal with it immediately, before I got all comfy doing something relaxing like laundry or cleaning. I would just have lost my mind later when I would have slipped on spilled water from kitchen play (did that later in the afternoon) or found half eaten peaches in the sofa ( did that later in the morning).

So I asked, and Allie answered, "He just got poo poo." CRAP!! Yes, again!!! More crap!! I looked frantically around the room for the poop, in hopes that the 5 second rule works for turds too, if indeed it was a turd. I would be so lucky! If I could just get it off the ground soon enough then maybe it wouldn't transfer all the poopy germs to the carpet. I know... I know.. wishful thinking, but come on, I can't be the only mom that thinks like this. Ok, back to finding the poop... I bend Martin over to clean up and no evidence of any poop. Maybe, just maybe, they're still playing Mommy and Baby and she's just kidding about the poop. I walked into Martin's room and...nope they're not playing...I see the dirty diaper on the floor, but no poop. No poop on the floor. The next logical question to ask, "Well were is it, Allie?" So I'm walking around the house playing 'Where's Poop'. If only it were wearing a little red and white stripped shirt and hat, I could find it faster thank Waldo and rescue my carpet from saturation. "ALLIE, where is IT?" The two sweetest little faces look at me like I'm a two year old throwing a poop smearing fit and they just can't figure out why in the world I'm going crazy. "We flushed it in the potty, Momma!"

"Oh." I shut my mouth. Grabbed a clean diaper and put it on my two year old.
"Ok."
"...and Allie, next time Martin has poop, please let mommy change him."

Yes, ma'am. I'm the mom who so negligent that she let's her three (almost four) year old change her two year old brother's poopy diaper.

*On second thought, maybe I'm doing something right?!
**Do I get a prize for using the word 'poop' in a post more times than any post in the history of blogging?

Getting Ready

2009-08-26T08:13:00.003-05:00

How about just a picture for today. My first born is turning four soon and we're in the throws of party making. Can you guess this year's theme?

You asked...

2009-08-23T12:50:00.009-05:00

Many, MANY people have asked me, "How's it with three kids?" And this is the moment, where I have to decide if I'm going to be the everything-is-perfect-I-can-handle-it-and-lie-out-my-arse-mom, OR the tell-it-like-it-is-scare-the-crap-out-of-you-mom. Both make people a little uncomfortable but, eh, that's what I'm here for. So, to be honest, it's hard. With help??? Still hard. Milk spraying, poop dripping, tear staining HARD! First six weeks were the hardest but it's getting easier. And I make sure to tell the horror stricken moms of two and pregnant with their third that it WOULD have been easier if I had planned my babies... any of them... even if I had just planned ONE of them and spaced it out so that at least the oldest was in school by now... it would have been easier. A little. But now that I'm coming off the first part of this ride, that magical thing is starting to happen where I forget how hard it is. I hear myself starting to say that it's not so bad. So, before I turn into it's-all-so-easy-I-did-it-why-can't-you, mom I thought I'd jot down my survival tips for a newborn, toddler and preschooler.

1. Don't sleep. Yup that right, just don't because then you'll want more and it ain't gonna happen, so don't get your hopes up. (yes, I said it just like that, run-on style, in my head)

2. Get all the help you can beg, borrow, steal, or pay for. My family (read: MOM) has been great. I know she's tired and worn to the bone, but I shamefully still ask for help because I know if I can survive these first couple of months with her help, I'll treat her to something very special. Aaaaand I'll be wiping her butt when she's too old. Love ya mom!

3. Find something to look forward to in the middle of the night. This goes back to the no sleeping thing. I remember being frustrated with the first two because I couldn't sleep at night. Then, I remembered a friend telling me that she read while she pumped. (Pumping sucks!! Sorry, I just gotta throw that in there whenever the moment allows) Now, this won't work with a first-time mom nursing, because you've seriously gotta focus. I know it seems simple to those of you who haven't shared your chi chis but really, boob in mouth=lots of focus. Anyway, I picked up a few cheesy, easy reads (ahem, the Twilight series) that I'd jump out of bed to read while nursing.

4. And my last tip... Get through the day. That's it... just get through it. Not it the sense that you rush and don't enjoy your babies, but get through the day, like survive!! If you guys don't bathe, get out of your pajamas, eat healthy food or see the sun that day, it's ok. There's always tomorrow... or next month. Just make sure everyone eats something and piddle around (not piddle like in the potty; piddle like, mess around without doing anything. Watch you preschooler for tips on how to piddle around). Sometimes I have a hard time slowing down and making life simple but this is exactly what we need with a new baby in house.

Time to kill

2009-08-18T15:56:00.005-05:00

"Let's just kill some time at Target.", I said. "I have a few things to pick up and the kids can check out the toys." I thought... "It'll give us something to do..." phfffffft!!!!!

Get to Target. Not so bad. Benjamin didn't cry the whole way.

Put my wrap on, pop Benito in. Allie and Martin hold are holding onto the basket as I cruise into the store like a mom who's got her sh*t together.

Automatic doors part, and ahhhhh the cool sanctuary of Starbucks, gadgets, toys and shopping!

Allie sees the food court. Eyes bug. Martin chimes in. "I hungry."

No problem. I've got this. Walk up to the counter. Order two organic mac 'n cheese meals for the kids with milk and applesauce. Done. Mom of the year!

Scratch that. They're out of milk and applesauce. Icee and cookies. What was the point of the "organic" mac n' cheese, then, you ask. I have no clue.

Grab the napkins and straws. Notice that the lady next to me is staring, mouth open in the direction of my kids. Martin is standing on the stool. Allie is sitting on the table.

Damn it.

Stay cool. "Hey you guys, sit in your chairs, please." "Mommy, is coming with lunch." (Why I talk in third person to my kids, I have NO idea. Really, someone please tell me why I do this, because I try to stop, since I sound like an idiot. But I just can't....Mommy says. )

This lady is taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to heat up the mac 'n cheese. Really how long can that take?

Ok. I underestimated.

Got the grub and the kids are kinda sitting and eating. I'm bribing them with the cookie. Am I an idiot. Really? What's the point of bribing them to eat MAC N CHEESE, and with a cookie? Is one really better than the other? Oh, well they do have the Icee to balance it out! gah. Whatever. Martin eats and I give him the cookie. Allie doesn't eat so I stick with my threat and don't give her the cookie and we're off to shop.

Benjamin starts to fuss a bit, so I start the mommy rock. While walking. Yeah you can see it now can't you. I'm pushing a basket and with every step I throw in two extra bounces. Step, bounce, bounce, push. Step, bounce, bounce, push. Cute.

Allie decides she wants to eat now. Throw her in the basket. Step, bounce, bounce, push....urgh puuuush. Step...

Martin is so into his cookie (or carb coma) that he runs into a display and drops the dang thing! Holy hell, the world just ended. Calm him down.

Some, probably very nice, Target employee sees Martin crying over the cookie and says, "Aw daddy, you're breakin' my heart." Yes. Nice man. Who apparently doesn't have kids and therefore doesn't know that you absolutely DO NOT talk to a kid in the middle of a tantrum. Never. Ever.

Go Directly to Jail! Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200.

Calm him down again. Give him Allie's cookie. Promise Allie a bigger cookie, ONLY if she eats her cheesy blob.

Race through isles and throw shit in the basket. May or may not be on my list.

Head for the toys to let the kids play like I promised. Ahh we're safe.

Kids play. Push buttons. Dinosaur roars. Every one's happy.

2 seconds later... Benjamin is not happy.

Ok. This is a grrreat opportunity for me to practice nursing in public, standing up, while watching a two and three year old, discreetly. (ha, yeah it was hard to even get through typing that). No problem. I have my wrap to cover me a bit, the big dinosaur is distracting the kids and Benito is big enough to not suffocate in my bosoms now.

Hey, I'm doing it. Not so bad. Except for the little teeny bopper couple who thinks it's cute to hang out in the toys while flirtting like a bunch of peacocks in heat.

Move to the next isle. They follow. Move back. Follow. Move two over, leaving my kids behind. They freakin' follow. WTH?? Are they playing chase? Think about just pulling Benjamin off and scaring the hell out of them! Go back for my kids.

For the LOVE of all things holy... what in the world is that? Did my... what the... yes....dammit, my dress just broke. How does that even happen?? Oh yeah, I know. Could it be because the little turds following me around to catch a glimpse of my chi chis, forced me to toss around my little Benito like a high school cheerleader which in turn pushed my poor, little, already really stressed out, spaghetti straps to their limit? Stupid kids.

Tuck, tie and hide the strap the best I can while still nursing Benjamin. Hope my other two are still in the store. Good. Giganto dino is still amusing them. Well that and that nice old man.

Oh God no. For the love of all sane mothers... please tell me that Allie's not holding herself. "Mom... I gotta go to the potty."

"Of course you do, honey."

Pop boob back into to broken dress. Pry two year old away from toy dinosaur. Screaming. Crying. Bring toy dinosaur. Run to the front of the store with basket, baby half way in the wrap, two year old crying while dragging dinosaur, and three year old hopping and holding.

We make it.

Standing in the bathroom nursing Benjamin. Martin is playing on the floor with the dinosaur. (I know some of you are saying.... Crisa, you're not supposed to take unpurchased items into the restroom. Yeah, well I'm also not supposed to feed my baby where people poop or let my kids play on the floor of a public restroom... shit happens. No, really I mean in this case... shit happens)

Come on, Allie. Let's be quick. Dangit, I should have never hoped, thought, wished for that. Today is obviously let's-laugh-at-Crisa day.

Excuse me... Sorry... Pardon me... No we're not waiting... REALLY???? Did everyone in Target have to come use the bathroom at THIS VERY MOMENT. What does it matter now? I've already flashed my boob to at least four people. (In case you're counting, 1 and 2 were the teeny boppers and 3 and 4 were the old man and his kid in the dinosaur isle) Martin's probably already eaten germs off the floor that haven't even been discovered yet and God only knows what Allie's doing in that stall that's taking so long.

Grab kids. Wash hand. Get OUT of the bathroom.

Go back to the toys. Drop off the dinosaur. Martin throws a fit. Toss him in the basket. Head over to the grocery section for a few more things on my list that I lost.

Toss more crap in the basket. Miss Martin. Wait... what's that? Dear lord in heaven above, you didn't bless us with a Texas thunderstorm, did you? Yes, yes you did. And yes, it's so loud I can hear it in the middle of the store with a two year old screaming in my ear.

Start chanting my new mantra. Well not new, borrowed. (I'm reading Eat, Pray Love right now)

Yes We Can! (Step, bounce, bounce, push...)
Yes We Can! (Step, bounce, bounce, push...)
Yes We Can! (Step, bounce, bounce, push...)

I make it to check out.

I'm making taking a stand. If those idiots are going to put all that sweet, yummy, colorful crap, at a three year old's eye level and within arms reach, then I'm not going to flinch when I put the open bag of M&Ms back on the shelf. There I said it and yes I did.

Pack up all our... well I don't even know what's in my bags but we packed it all up and head for the car.

Rain washes off cookie, mac n' cheese, bathroom nasties and candy.

Kids are asleep.

All is right in the world, again.

Dear Lord,

2009-08-15T21:02:00.002-05:00

Please send down the toy angel...she does exist, doesn't she? because I've been using her in my most recent threats... sorry, anyway, can you send her down to come and take ALL of these freakity franken' toys!!! Oh and then can you work some of your God-mojo and make my kids completely happy playing with something small and simple like... oh a duster... ooo or a cleaning rag??

Thanks,

Crisa

Allie November 2005

"Let's talk birth control"

2009-08-13T12:31:00.005-05:00

Ahhh the six week follow up visit to the midwife. The sole purpose of this visit is to make sure everything found it's way back to it's orginal place even though we all know it's a little bigger, looser and still angry. This is not one of my favorite visits due to all the extra "prep" work needed for said exam. It does rank pretty high on Hubby's list... what? maybe second, we'll say. Right behind the "It's a boy OR It's not a boy" visit. So, when we were still waiting an hour later, I swear he was going to boost me up on the stirups and do the exam himself. Thank god she came in time, because I was going to have to explain to Hubby that some things you can't just tinker with and figure out... you need training!!!

Now, the last time I saw this lady our casual greeting was her hand up my ~~hoo haa~~ gown while she pretended to read her notes on "How not to make a vaginal exam uncomfortable" on the ceiling. I brace myself. Dear lord... you'd think it would be easier after birthing an almost 8 pound baby?!?! Nope. But I pass with flying colors and just when I think that we've overcome our barriers of all things embarrassing (really what could be left? I was just naked from the waist down with all of my glory within inches of this lady's face???) she asked the question that took me back to 10th grade!

"So what about birth control?"

Talk about an awkward conversation. I'm sitting there in my paper gown with my midwife, husband and the most recent product of our well planned out birth control method in my arms (the other two were at their Mimi's).
I'm stuttering, "Um....um...." Thank god she's looking down at my file. Probably rechecking to see how many kids I have. 5?10?
"Well....um...um.." I desperately try to get Hubby's attention, but he's conveniently soothing the baby. I hear no crying! Well not that other people can hear too. Ass. She glances at him and then me again, waiting for an answer.

All I can mutter out is, "Well, we just signed up for cable."

That's right folks, you read it right. Cable!! We cancelled it almost 5 years ago in October of 2004. Allie was born August 2005. Do you need a calendar? I'll give you some time... Ok, so if logic serves me right, I should be able to sign up for cable again and not have any babies. Right? Well the midwife wasn't following. She laughed a little and then realized I was serious. She looks up at me with that You-Can't-Be-That-Stupid-So-I-Must-Be-On-Punk'ed look and now I'm blushing!!

Yeah, I'm 29 years old, married with three kids and I'm blushing! All the while my mind is jumbled up... Do I want more kids? Can I handle more kids? Do I believe in birth control? Do I want to swell up like an Oompa Loompa on the pill again? Why won't my husband get neutered? I don't want surgery. Do I? Time off??No, no... too permanent. Well what in the hell does that leave me with?

We both blurt out, "Condoms?!"

16. A pimple just surfaced on my face. Hubby is hiding in the corner shifting around like he's contemplating jumping out the window. She tries to make us feel a little more grown up and says, "Condoms are a perfectly reasonable solution. Even for married people."

Yup, the lowly condom is usually not sophisticated enough for married people, but I guess in our case, it's better than cable.

Random craft

2009-08-10T23:46:00.002-05:00

Inspired by Mrs. Emily...

Sandwich or snack bags.

It's like telephone

2009-08-08T11:44:00.001-05:00

Remember when you used to play that game. Someone says something absolutely ridiculous like "I went to the store for glue and paid with pennies " and the last person shouts out " a purple butt dinosaur ate a doo doo clown on kool-aid" Yeah, somehow poop and butts always ended up in there.

So Daddy has been telling the kids jokes. They're favorite...

"Why did the apple kiss the banana?"
"Because it had appeal!"
Yeah, I know. A little advanced for a 2 and 3 year old. Anyway, this is Martin's version of the joke, a la telephone.

"Apple, Tree, Peanut! HHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAA"

Alternative to naps #2

2009-08-07T14:58:00.003-05:00

She's getting more creative, right? I mean last time it was just dress up. I think this is a dog house? I heard barking...

The beach is my favorite place in the whole world.

2009-08-07T09:16:00.003-05:00

Threat #241 and #242

2009-08-03T00:17:00.003-05:00

Electric shock

Eaten by T-Rex - Hubby was in trouble too!

How to play with a six week old???

2009-07-31T16:57:00.002-05:00

My new favorite line for telemarketers...

2009-07-29T16:14:00.005-05:00

I've got three kids. They're all screaming. Gotta go!

I have this thing, where I can't not answer the house phone if I can reach it. We don't have Caller ID for this very reason. It doesn't matter if I know who's calling or not, I can't just let it ring a bazillion times before the annoying answering machine picks up just to have to listen to a few more beeps and THEN the message. Nope it's quicker to just pick up the phone and turn 'em away before they can get full stride into their pitch. Most of the responses I'm getting from my new line are, "God bless you" or "Oh, I'm sorry". I get a few, "Oh, it'll just be..." and that's when I put the baby or the closest screaming child on the phone. That usually does it.

Baby shower gifts

2009-07-27T22:31:00.003-05:00

I've only had one baby shower and although my family threw me a wonderful shower with friends and family, I still hate showers. Well, I hate being the guest of honor. There's just something really weird about asking for a bunch of stuff, inviting people to a party so they can give it to you and then trying to look surprised when you open it. My favorite gifts were the surprises. The handmade gifts or independently chosen ones. So that's what I give. I'm sure most of the moms curse me when they get home because they really wanted that under the sea baby swing that has 10 speeds, a five star light show and plays Beethoven's fifth but I can't help myself. What are they gonna do?? Return my gift??

Burp clothes and a wash cloth duckie.

SCHOOL?!?!?

2009-07-24T10:28:00.003-05:00

Well I caved and sent Allie to vacation bible school this week. She's been begging to go to school for about a year now and to be honest with you, I'm not too thrilled. I'm pretty anti-school, I guess if you had to call it something but that's a post for another day. Allie, however, wants to go to school so bad that she is trying to skip a whole year of her life so that she can start already. So, for my sanity's sake I enrolled her in a one week camp to see if she'd actually like "school" and so that she'd stop pestering me about it. Yeah, I didn't think that one through because all I'm going to hear next week is, "Momma do I go to school today?", "How about today?", "Today?" ahhhhhhhhhh I'm bracing for it.

If I Could be a Superhero...

2009-07-22T07:11:00.002-05:00

I'm drawing up plans for my costume now.

Rubber girl. Reaching in the backseat to find a tut (pacifier) in the deepest crevice of a car seat and blindly poking it around until it finally lands in Benjamin's mouth. By the way, this is a lot harder to do when the car is stopped! Am I the only one that has babies that cry out in crippling pain every time the car stops moving??

Monkey toes. Yup, just what you're thinking - I pick stuff up with my toes. I'm really good at it and can pick up almost anything. I think I perfected this when I was pregnant, but it's been a lifesaver with a newborn too. Hubby has set limits, though, and has begged me not to pick up anything that will go in any one's mouth.

One-armed wonder. Benjamin is tiny and so new to this world that everything is strange, loud and scary to him. So he just wants to be near ~~his chichis~~ me. I don't really think I understood this as a new mom and it would frustrate me that Allie would cry so much, but now I get it. So, Mr. Benjamin is always on me and if he's not in a wrap, that means I only have only one arm available. This is a pretty common supermom talent though. They even have a cookbook just for and by a One-armed Wonder Mom! One-Armed Cook

Our new and improved threat...

2009-07-20T07:11:00.001-05:00

Yeah we've tried:

"Don't make me count" (... to three which includes two and a half, two and three quarters....)

" Do you want to go sit in time out? (where you play with all sorts of crap because I don't follow through and watch you)

" I'm going to give away your (most prized childhood possession that'll surely scar you for life) if you don't...",

"Do you want me to call your Daddy?"(This one does work even though I said I'd never be one of those moms.)

"If you don't behave, no Mimi's/swimming/movie night . " (Even though these are usually more of a treat for me than you)

....Well you get the idea. We're gonna shake it up this week though.

Threat of the week: If you're not a good girl/boy, Mommy and Daddy are going to feed you to the sand monster!

Five Things I've Loving Right Now

2009-07-18T07:26:00.007-05:00

I guess I should have posted this one before the "5 Things I Hate", huh?

Sisterly Love.I don't know if I've mentioned it but I have a horrible memory. Well, I can remember things, but I can't memorize things. It's okay, I'm dealing, buuuut it makes it really hard for me to know things like history dates, multiplication facts and song lyrics. So, when I first became a mommy I sang Allie some silly made up song that had all of two versus. Then, I moved to the ABC's when I was deliriously tired, because I couldn't even remember the lyrics to my own two-verse song. Then, Martin was born. Allie and I had been going to a Mommy and Me music class, and I studied really, REALLY hard to remember the lyrics to the lullabies. I mean, seriously, I'm bad at this. It's sad. Anyway, I studied really hard and was prepared to lull my sweet little boy to sleep with my newly memorized song, Hush Little Baby. Yeah, that was a flop! I think I got to the second verse and it went something like this... and if that diamond ring won't shine, momma's gonna buy you a girl so fine, and if that girl.... well you get the point. It was not very soothing because I had to pause every five seconds to run through the alphabet and find rhyming words! Now I've passed that, oh so wonderful, trait on to my daughter. She's a great big sister. Gives Benjamin his tut, holds him, kisses him, loves him aaaand sings horribly inappropriate versions of Hush Little Baby to him. Just one of the many versions: Hush little baby, momma's gonna buy you a ring *Benjamin starts wailing*....momma's gonna.... *his face is turning red*....buy you...URGH!!! JUST HUSH!!!!!!

Country Boy. I love that I can turn the radio on at any time to a country station and my husband know all the words... and he sings. mmmmm nice. Now, if I could just get him into some boots! and chaps...

Happy Hangup. Wow this is one of those things that I wish I knew about with my first baby. Instead of hanging half off the bed to rock the stupid bassinet - that I always stumped my toe on - all night long! Not to mention that my poor babies only slept in the bassinet for a short time, because the paper thin mattress was so uncomfortable. The baby hammock is hung from our ceiling (with lots of bitching and moaning on daddy's part) so no more bruised toes and the best part is that every time Benjamin stirs the hammock bounces and rocks him back to sleep. HEAVEN!!

Mom of the Year! I love how neglecting my children has paid off!! They are so good at playing together or alone. Martin can play make believe for hours and only harasses his sister for half of that time. Allie's favorite game right now is mommy dog and baby dog. What does it involve? I have no idea because I don't play it! Poor Mimi gets roped into playing though. The only down side would be that my little boy frequently wears girl clothes and wants to be a princess, but all in all, I'll take it because it means I can be sane for part of the day.

Finger Lickin' Good. Not only is this my favorite thing that Martin says right now, but it's also what I say when the fabulous women in my playgroup bring us dinner. I cannot even being to say how much I love this! Around five 'o'clock when I've answered a million whys and swatted two pairs of hands away from the baby for three hours straight, an angel shows up at my door with a fabulously hot meal and I could just cry every time. I really love how this group of women take care of each other. My generation will never know what it's like to live in a time where the whole village helps raise your children. Both parents work, kids are in extra activities instead of playing in the yard, family doesn't live within walking distance and neighbors don't trust each other. Well maybe you get a few of these, but not all of them. This group of women has created a modern version of this village. We get together a few times a week to help each other regroup and let the kids play. We also help each other out when you need friends and family the most- like after having a baby. And, of course, we get together to refuel our supermom powers with a few beers or margaritas.

Time is NOT on our side

2009-07-16T22:26:00.004-05:00

God I can't believe my baby is one month old today. This is my third baby I've stopped time for. We've cuddled and nursed and stared at each other for hours upon end it seems like, while the rest of the world continued on it's merry way.

I will say that this time around I've washed fewer clothes, cooked less, panicked and cried less. This time around I haven't wished for the milestones to come, counted hours between feedings or panicked over how many poop and pee diapers my baby has. Benjamin, might be my last baby. That little sentence excites and terrifies me all at the same time.

Just another shot out to my girl Tiffany who does awesome birthday invitations, and announcements.

Mooo

2009-07-14T22:50:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I have a feeling that I'm going to have a whole series of photos titled, When Momma Was Nursing.

.... and YES I will be making her wipe her butt with this!! Waste not, want not - and she wants a LOT of things, so no wasting in this momma's house.

2009-07-13T07:38:00.001-05:00

She walks around the house with her eyes closed, begging for us to buy her glasses because she can't see.

To save my marriage-

2009-07-11T07:14:00.002-05:00

Ok so I'm sure it's just my raging hormones but Dear LORD!!!! if you could get a divorce on the internet, I'd be single right now. Instead of Goggling to check IF I really could, I'll just vent for a second and be on my married way.

Five Things I'm Hating Right Now:

How the grown man in my house can make as much of a mess as the kids. Really?? Come on!!! Put a napkin or plate down before you butter your toast, put the dirty diaper in the trash, pick up your size 11 clog hoppers before someone hurts themselves and for my sanity's sake, please cover the damn food in the microwave!!

How my deodorant only works on one of my armpits since I've had Benjamin! How insane is that? What's worse is the my three year old has told me that I stink. TWICE. I think I might need to go "clinical" with my hygiene products.

Nap time. See picture below.

Nursing bras. Well maybe it's the boobs I put in them that I'm not liking. Don't get wrong, I LOVE nursing, but people should not be smaller than what they are eating!!!

How my dear husband glowers at me when I can't keep from shoving every single toxic but comfort food within a five mile radius into my mouth. It's like a cruel joke what nature does to our bodies after having a baby. When I desperately want to lose those last fifteen pounds from my pregnancy, my body seems to be possessed like the zombies from Night of the Living Dead, except my "brain food" seems to be chocolate and pasta!

My zombie picture frome 2007. Yeah my husband got in a lot of trouble for this one, but here I am sharing it anyway.

Naptime

2009-07-09T07:56:00.000-05:00

The Fourth Trimester

2009-07-07T20:28:00.002-05:00

I know, the math teacher in me had a hard time typing it...

This is how we'll probably be spending most of our days for the next few months.

Welcome Benjamin

2009-06-26T10:10:00.004-05:00

On June16th (one day late) Hubby and I welcomed our third baby into our lives. I'm still in shock and so deeply in love, my world is kinda foggy. I still can't believe that 1. we had another unplanned baby, and an Ike baby at that! 2. we are now officially outnumbered by kids and 3. I have another sweet baby to cuddle with and smother with kisses. I have no idea how I'm going to manage three kids at home by myself, but I have heard that it's been done before so I'm trying to keep faith.

I'm hoping that I'll get back to blogging soon, but it did take me almost three weeks to write this!

The story of Benjamin Hyer:

My "due date" (and I quote, because my grandmother says that babies are never early or late; they come when they're ready) was June 15th and to honest with you I was ready for him to come well before that! Well on Friday, I was really working myself up to have this baby on Monday. I know the due date is just a guess, but with Allie and Martin being born on their due date, I was certain that this little one would come on or before the 15th. Nope! Benjamin marches to the beat of his own drum. Either that or he's going to be that child that refuses to listen to his momma, but will do what I say just as soon as I no longer want or need him to. Anyways, Monday came and I woke up knowing he wasn't ready. I think I cried. Well I know I yelled at Hubby at least and I think there were tears involved. After I threw my little temper tantrum, we ran a few errands and ended the evening with a few walks around the neighborhood.

Later that evening, after the kids were in bed I started having good contractions. Well I had been having good ones for a few days, but I didn't get my hopes up and refused to start timing them until the were closer and more consistent. I played my Birthing Day track from Hypnobabies and really focused on getting my mind ready for labor. After trying hard to NOT time my contractions I crashed on the sofa around 1 am. Around 3am I woke up and decided that this was it!! I finished packing, took a shower and called the midwives. My contractions were about 5 min. apart, but not intense. Of course now that I think of it, I was using Hypnobabies so it was really hard to tell if they were "go to the hospital" intense or not. Theodora, the midwife, said to wait a few hours until they were closer together. I set my mind to wait until at least 5 am so it wouldn't be a ridiculous hour to call my mom. I think I was really playing into one of my ridiculous-oh-so-pregnant-irrational-fears. A few nights before I freaked out in the middle of the night about having to call my mom over in the middle of the night and not having clean sheets for her to sleep on. The next day I went out and bought an extra set of sheets and washed them, you know, just in case. Sooooo, I wanted to wait to call her ~~at the break of dawn~~ in the morning, leaving no need change the sheets. When 5am rolled around I decided we could wait until 7am when the kids woke up and then we could just take them to my mom's house. Around 6:30a.m. Dawn, the new midwife on call, called to see how I was doing. After updating her on my contractions, we agreed that I could come to the hospital when I felt ready, in the next few hours.

We dropped the kids off at my mom's. On the way, between packing them up and getting excited about FINALLY meeting our baby, I got distracted from my Hypnobabies. I started to really feel the intensity of my contractions and then I panicked a little. Once we were back in the car, I played my Deepening track and refocused. We arrived at the hospital around 8a.m. and decided to grab some breakfast, since I knew they wouldn't let me eat once I checked in. Thank god Martin knew his way around because I felt like a lab rat in that freakin' maze they call a hospital. Seriously people, why do they make it so hard to navigate when you've got a bunch of drugged sick people wandering around in the place?? Anyways, we grabbed some breakfast, but by the time I sat down to eat it, my contractions were about three minutes apart and coming on stronger and longer, so we boogied up to the maternity floor after calling Dawn and letting her know we were checking in.

It was about 9a.m. when we were settled in our room and Dawn check in on us. I was 6 cm and 90% effaced!!! After monitoring me for a few minutes and finishing up all the paperwork, I climbed into the shower. I was supposed to just use the shower since baby was still floating around and wasn't wanting to stay engaged in my pelvis. After a few minutes of standing, I decided that I didn't care too much for the shower and wanted to sit in the tub instead. Martin drew me a bath and all was right with the world. I labored in the tub for about an hour. Dawn came to check on me and I decided to get out of the tub. Back on the bed, Dawn checked me again and I was only 7 cm 100% effaced. I gave her the thumbs up to break my water since it was bulging anyways. Then, things moved a little faster. I grabbed my Ipod again and really focused on relaxing and getting this baby to move down. At one point I opened my eyes, the room was dark and Martin and Dawn were just staring at me. Weird. I later found out that Dawn was watching my breathing to see how my contractions were progressing. I don't know what Martin was watching.

Dawn checked me again and I was 9 1/2 cm 100% effaced. I told her I was going to push anyways. She gave me the go ahead, which really didn't matter, because my body was already pushing. I think I pushed for about 45minutes. I could tell this little one was going to be bigger, because he was harder to get down than my last baby. Anyways, I'll save all the gory stuff for the first-time-moms-to-be that I run into.

At 12:03pm, my third little blessing was placed on my chest and Martin and I wept, that happy, uncontrollable, body heaving cry of happiness. We were so excited to finally have our baby that Martin forgot to see what we had. Dawn had to remind us to look and when Martin did, we were shocked! It's a BOY?!?! Benjamin was 7 pounds 13ounces and 22.5inches and the most mellow baby out of my three. He's perfect!

I know, I know...

2009-05-05T16:21:00.002-05:00

but really I probably don't make the best blogger pregnant, because I turn into a crazy-lady nester and all I can see right now is a blur of paint colors and baby stuff. I'll be back soon with all the little projects I've got going on, because you know I can't just start on and finish it; I've got to scatter my crap all over the house, right along with my brain. And just to wrap up the randomness a little "ahhhh" I picked up from my momma's kitchen.

Fill an empty spice jar with a mixture salt and pepper for cooking.
Fill another one with a cinnamon and sugar mixture for things like toast, oatmeal, milkshakes.

See you guys soon.

2009-04-10T16:40:00.003-05:00

I think creating a life really inspires me to surround myself with living things. Today we planted a few herbs to keep on my kitchen window sill. I was probably more excited that I should be to find pineapple mint!!!!!

Here's our little stowaway. I hope he sticks around so the kids can see him form his crystalis and morph into a butterfly.

She can swing like a big girl now

2009-04-07T15:45:00.004-05:00

It wasn't until I became a mother that I realized my whole life could change in one moment. The first, of course, being when the world spun around me like a vortex to another world, in my bathroom after that teeny tiny second line smiled up at me. From that moment on, every decison I made from what I ate to what I spent money on, was for someone other than ME.

Over the last 5 years I've had many life changing days; some big like the births of my children and some smaller like the fist day nursing didn't hurt. Don't be mistaken, my life before children had plenty of memorable days that changed the course of my life, but these are different. These moments for the most part aren't by my choosing, they're inevitable and all I can do is sit back and soak in how amazing they are. I can't wish the days away, hoping that things will be easier when.... (fill in the blank, because really I have about 20 of them I could list off the top of my head). I keep reminding myself that "this is just a stage" and I try and smile through it because I know it'll change so fast that soon I'll be telling my friends how much I missed it when A needed me to swing her or M had to have me watch him go down the slide e.v.e.r.y. s.i.n.g.l.e t.i.m.e! My life is no longer completely my own. For a former control freak, this is very liberating.

What I'm loving right now

2009-04-02T22:49:00.010-05:00

I know this is so random, but I think it captures the essence of my nesting right now. I feel like I'm digging out these little comfort holes for myself. Some of them I'm creating, by surround myself with things I love and some of them are capturing moments I love and letting them linger.

Simple and order. This is exactly what I feel like I need in order to prepare myself for being outnumbered by kids in two months.

Fake sleeping. A, who is going to be the big, BIG sister, pretends to sleep whenever Daddy is driving so that he can carry her into the house. Did I mention how much I love, her love for her Daddy.

Digging for worms. This has been A's sole mission for the last week or so. She's even recruited her brother to help her overturn every brick and rock between here and Mimi's house.

Bluebonnets in the big city. Who would have thought that I'd be treated with such untamed beauty in the fourth largest city!

Old and homey. I finally displayed my collection of estate sale pot holders. Our neighborhood is turning over and I've been to a few estate sales in the last 4 years. Every time I walk in the door of one of my experienced neighbors, my heart flutters with excitement and sadness. I love to find all of these wonderful treasures that are left behind like junk, but at one time were held dear by someone. These are a few of my favorite.

Wrestling. The kids are playing outside from the moment they wake up until it's time to come in for dinner. They love each other so much, my heart giggles. Yes they fight and cry too, but moments like these prove to be more lasting and powerful than the tears.

Tongue tied??

2009-03-31T10:46:00.004-05:00

maybe, but a fool he's not.

Recent doctor's visit-

Me: I'm concerned about M's tongue being tied. My husband had this as a child and I've noticed that M can't really stick his tongue out.

Doc: Ok let's take a look. He pulls out the fat Popsicle stick thing and starts poking around M's mouth.

M: aaargh

Doc: puts his index finger about 2 inches away from M's mouth. M, can you touch my finger with your tongue.

M: uuuhuh M takes the Doc's finger and pulls it to touch his tongue.

Doc: laughing his @ss off I think he'll be fine.

Curious George party

2009-03-30T09:15:00.000-05:00

I know this is a little late, but it's been crazy around here AND can you believe that I didn't take one picture during the party???? So I've had to gather some up.

M love Curious George so that was our theme. Before I started planning, there were a few things I knew I wanted to be different. I LOVE having parties, but I hated buying all this stuff just to see it in the trash at the end of the day. So my plan this time was to try and make or buy as many things that could be reused as possible. Another small motivation was that I'll be in newborn-lala-land for A's 4th birthday, so I wanted to streamline this whole process. Here are a few pics and ideas from our Green Curious George birthday.

Invitations - Tiffany (miragreetings) did an awesome job again!! I thought of just sending them via email, but our family really enjoys getting the photo, so out they went.

Plates, cups and utensils - I have some reusable plastic plates from Sam's that we used. I'm kicking myself for being so obsessed with having matching themed plateware and not using these more often. I also found some wonderful cups and utensils from Preserve. Their products are made in the USA, from recycled plastics and are BPA-free! Napkins - We have friends over quite a bit and I'm always unprepared because we don't use paper products. We had a small set of 18 x18 in. dinner napkins that we share, but it's never enough for our little friends. So I made a huge set of little napkins. I used fat quarters from our local fabric shop and mix-matched the colors. I cut each piece about 9x9in, double sided them and then stitched a seam on the right side. Here's a tutorial from Sew Mama Sew. Very easy, but lots of ironing and sewing.
Banner - I wanted something bright and fun for birthdays, but I was tired of buying or making one, just to have to start again in a few months. So I made a generic one for all of our parties. Again I used a variety of Fat Quarters. I cut a template out of card stock and used this amazing gadget that looks like a pizza cutter to cut all my fabric!! Amazingly easier than pinking shears. I double sided my triangles and just sewed them on the right-side out. Then I bought two 4 yard packets of binding and strung them together. Very easy. Here's another page of tutorials from Sew Mama Sew. Party favors - I bought some Curious George scrap paper and made some blank coloring books. Very easy. I took 10 sheets of recycled, white paper, one sheet of scrap book paper and folded them together. Trim as needed. Then, I sewed right down the middle to bind it. I put a blank label on the front for their names. Then I paired it with the twig pencils(found here) and some homemade binoculars from toilet paper rolls.

Games - We bought a pool for the summer and decided to fill it with balls for now since it's not quite warm enough for water. The kids LOVED it. We also have a pinata, of course. Cake - I love making my kids' caked for their birthdays.

All dressed up for Daddy

2009-03-27T14:09:00.003-05:00

I love how much she loves her Daddy.

It's Genetic

2009-03-26T08:12:00.002-05:00

I'm absolutely convinced, now. This morning M, spilled some milk on the breakfast bench. I was running around doing my morning chores, so I tossed him a rag and said, "Clean, up." As I'm running back and forth, I see him cleaning it up, but then as I've got one foot in the laundry room, I see him turning the cushion over! Where in the world did he learn that from???

Summer's here

2009-03-25T08:11:00.000-05:00

... at least compared to the rest of the States. Well I know it's gonna get HOTTER so technically 83 degrees is spring for us.

Happy Birthday M!

2009-03-17T08:44:00.001-05:00

My sweet baby boy. I can't believe you're two today. When I look at your sweet little face I can't believe how fast you're growing up. All my heart can remember is the overflowing joy I felt when we snuggled for the first 3 months of your life. Finally after having such an independent and hot natured baby, God gave me you, a snuggler. As you sat in your highchair this morning, which has become sporadic lately, I could still see the glimpse of the crooked smirk you would flash at me while you were still sleeping 18 hours a day on my chest. And I'm so thankful that your infectious and unbelievable adorable giggle hasn't left you in this past year. When you throw your head back and unleash your laugh on the world, all of my frustrations and worries are blown away. I love you for that.

My dear, sweet, baby boy, you have come a long way in one year. This past year you have learned to communicate with short broken sentences instead of hands, teeth and yells. You are one of the most polite two year olds that most people know. You absolutely love and adore your big sister, who has taught you many new words, some colors and maybe a few numbers. You are rougher and tougher than most boys come, loving dirt, cars, bugs, and dinosaurs more than anything else. You've got a mean curve ball and can roar any two year old out of the room. Right now you are a Daddy's boy and I don't mind so much. I miss your cries for me and our snuggling, but I love seeing you and your Daddy form a bond that is unmistakably magical.

Now all the giggles and cuddles aside, I've been know to say that you are full of piss and vinegar, which isn't a total lie, but I guess I wouldn't have it any other way. You're head-strong, full of life and energy and have this amazing old soul in your eyes. I know as the years carry on that you will teach me a lot about myself and I'm privileged to have you in my life. I love you baby boy.

Please don't feel sorry for me

2009-03-16T13:58:00.006-05:00

Please don't look at me like that. I knew what I was getting myself into when I got pregnant and still had two small children at home. Well maybe not AT the time, but like the midwife says, "If you're not, NOT trying then your trying."

To the moms at swim class:

Yes, I carried my almost two year-old, kicking and screaming, under my arm into my daughter's swim class while 7 months pregnant, BUT we were late and I do remember reading in some parent manual that the "football" hold is good for something??? Besides, when I did the math, these damn classes cost more than I'm willing to admit, so we were NOT going to be late.

To the little old lady at Randalls:

I really wasn't going to leave my child in the store. You see sometimes they don't listen and I'm too round to chase after them. Lord knows it'd be a chase too, because he was standing next to the candy with that little twinkle in his eye. You know the "let's play" twinkle. So I resorted to a threat and wouldn't you know he called my bluff. So what's a mom to do? I left the store and hid behind the pillar. Now stop shaking your head; the security guy was right there and watching us the whole time and if things got really ugly I would have sent my 3 year old after him. Now SHE'S fast!! After you left from being so disgusted with my parenting techniques, my son saw that I meant business and came running out looking for me. We talked ( in caveman-speak, of course) about how he needs to stay close to mommy, because it's dangerous if he gets lost. There were kisses and wiping of tears and lessons learned. Now I've just got to work on my 3 year-old's fear of abandonment.

To the man walking by my house and looking in the window:

I promise I'm not crazy. I know you usually see me running around with half naked kids and you probably think that the neighborhood is going to crap. We are good people. Promise. When you happened to look in the window I wasn't losing my mind. Cursing and yelling to myself, yes! but for a good reason. You see I was trying to wrap a freakin' guitar for my husband's birthday. It's the shape of the damn thing, because I swear I'm a good wrapper. And who in the hell designed tape so that as soon as you tear it off, it curls up and sticks to itself???? I had to try and un-stick it with one hand because I couldn't let go of the wrapping paper that was strategically placed in the one spot that would keep me from running out of paper and just wrapping the damn thing in foil. So you see, completely rational behavior. I'm okay now though, don't worry I got the thing wrapped and hidden in the car. I'm just going to tell hubby that the kids helped.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY !!

2009-03-12T20:51:00.002-05:00

" You know Mommy, sometimes people just cry." - A

Randomness

2009-03-10T15:01:00.002-05:00

M is a nose picker. We've been under the weather around here and last week I cuddled with M during nap time to keep an eye on his fever. Now I know he's all boy. His toots can drive a grown man out of the room, a 2 foot fall doesn't put a pause in his step, and he can throw like a 5 year old. YES, Daddy is proud...but a booger picker... and a closet one at that! So we're cuddling in bed and as soon as I get my 6 1/2 month belly comfy, I see this tiny little dirty finger shoot up his nose. It stayed there until he fell asleep. Yup, now I know how those slimy streaks end up appear on his sheets every morning.

I feel like I have a red light on my front porch. Good lord I've had 3 men stop by today. We have a pine tree out front that died during the hurricane that is apparently a siren to all the lawn guys in the neighborhood. I know she needs to come down, but I thought I'd give her until spring. I know, I know, pines are evergreens and it doesn't make sense but I hate to see her go.

A has stepped into attitude. I feel like I should write this in her baby book, but wouldn't you know that they don't have a spot for it AND it would be the only entry in the last three years!!! So one day I was sitting on a blanket on one of our premature spring days and getting ready to settle in and watch A follow her BFFN (best friend for now) around the playground like a little puppy, when it happened. A snubbed her BFFN. I couldn't believe it. A huge milestone in a girl's life and I was there to see it. Brought tears to my eyes. Then, of course, I pulled her aside and we talked about how being a mean girl hurts people's feelings and she should remember how it feels when her friends are mean to her. Blah, blah, blah. I shooed her off to play and exhaled. A explained that she was being the mean girl because her friend was teasing her. Ah haa, the snubber got snubbed! I know it's not what I'm supposed to be feeling, but I'm relieved. My baby girl will be able to fight back. A's heart is just so open to the world and as her mother I'm always worried that she will be the girl who suffers many heartaches, because she loves so much. Very hard for a mother to see, but I LOVE who she is and how her love for complete strangers is endless.

I had it by the tail feathers

2009-03-02T08:48:00.003-06:00

but that damn PEACE just slips away every time. Well at least I can say I gave it a shot. We really tried to be one of those calm, simple families but my temper's too quick, my kids are too loud and my family's too big!!

How I scared peace away:
1. Hubby had a cancer scare. He's ok.
2. Dad's cancer is back. He's going to be ok.
3. Super-modern ultrasound technology scared us, but baby is ok.
4. A has learned how to be mean and I'm now THAT mom on the playground with THAT child. The kids will be ok.
5. M started ~~yelling~~ talking. I'm not ok, yet.

I missed y'all and can't wait to post more.

Seeking peace

2009-01-01T10:05:00.003-06:00

It was a wonderfully busy but calm season and right now I'm just enjoying the lazy days, my family together and the peace.

The Presents

The Family

and the Funny

Merry Christmas

2008-12-19T08:20:00.005-06:00

Yay we finished our Christmas cards. I know, I know... it's late, but EARLY for us!!

2008-12-18T13:27:00.003-06:00

Here are a few more gifts.

Puppy. Tutorial by Martha. Yes, we're on a first name basis. M loves "Frankie" so much that I might have to make another one for the little one this puppy was intended.

Eye pillows. These smell so wonderful.

Play food. There were so many cute ideas out there that I wanted to make them all. I settled on cookies, eggs, bacon, pancakes with syrup and butter, and a sandwich. I also made a reversible apron to go with it.

Some pillows.

Lost

2008-12-15T07:44:00.004-06:00

I've been swallowed up or buried in all of my projects. Here's a drive by post with a few completed projects. More to come, I just haven't taken pictures.

Here is A testing out some fleece pants I made her.

Christmas pajamas. Here's a tutorial on how to do the reverse applique on the shirts and here's a tutorial on how to make the pants.

We usually don't get snow in our side of the world so I thought these would be cute gifts for the toddlers and babies. These are hand felted balls with a golf ball size wiffle ball and a bell inside. Here's the tutorial I used.

** Sorry Wendy I should have given the blog that inpired these. ***

Advent

2008-12-09T16:40:00.003-06:00

Day 7 - To see Santa

Day 8 - Make ornaments for the tree with friends. We made THESE (I know it's too simple, who needs a recipe, but I like to read the comments) cinnamon ornaments. Super easy and they make the whole house smell yummy for YEARS!!

Day 9 - Write letters to Santa. I helped M with his shapes and A's list says: 1. House 2. Lipstick 3. Doll

Ok ladies, get ready. I have a few projects I've been working on and I'll post them tomorrow. How is your handmade Christmas coming along?

To be a hypocrite is to be human...

2008-12-08T09:13:00.004-06:00

What do you think?

I just recently heard someone say this and I've been rolling it around in my head. The last time I was called a hypocrite, which was just a week or so ago, I wasn't offended, and that's very different from the other ~~million~~ few times I've had that word slung at me. This time I just thought, "Well yeah, I am." I think that the idea of who I want to be, the goals I have set for myself and I'm constantly striving to meet, haven't been reached yet. I'm a hypocrite. I say as a mother that my kids come first, but sometimes they don't. Marriage should be about respecting each other, but sometimes that gets thrown out the window on the tail of my harsh words. Quality time... "Right after this email, baby girl." I should just put a "live green" sticker on my SUV, huh?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not embracing the idea of striving to be a hypocrite, but let's not kid ourselves, we all are. I think the important part for me is that I WANT to be a better person and I am striving to be but sometimes, well a lot of the times, I fail.

Here's a striving-to-be-Earth-friendly hypocrite's artificial tree.

2008-12-07T10:09:00.007-06:00

I was going to try and take pictures of every Advent event, but um... yeah, that didn't happen. Here are the days that I had enough sanity to remember the camera.

Ok, so it's been a rough week. We did decorate the house last night though. woooohooo Oh, and our house really isn't on fire, it's just my crappy photo-taking skillz.

And A is loving the nativity scene; All of our dolls are now named "baby Jesus" including the one in my tummy AND her's.

And so it begins

2008-12-03T14:52:00.007-06:00

Our Advent calendar is up and ~~I've~~ we've really enjoyed our first two activities. I really am hoping that this will help me slow down and teach my babies about the whole season of Christmas. I don't want them to pass the years thinking that if they are good for three weeks out of the year they'll be loaded down with elaborate and ridiculously expensive gifts. I love the season of Christmas and I mean everything from the jolly fat guy and snowmen to the feeling I get when I see a Christmas candle light flicker and know what that means in my heart. I want my babies to know the sharing, hope, faith and love that is Christmas. I've never done this before, you know, seeing how I only get one go 'round at the mom thing. So, my plans are to emphasize family, love, giving and the history of Christmas through our Advent calendar AND to make this a handmade Christmas. I really, really want my kids to see that the act of giving ~~has gotten too expensive and money is tight~~ is an act of love and that when we invest our time and creativity into our gifts we are putting our love into them for our friends and family. I hope that this lesson will carry over into the receiving part of this tradition too, so we're not bombarding them with tons of toys. When they receive a gift that has been carefully chosen just for them, I want them to cherish it and know that it was given with love. I'm thinking that this would be hard to do if they have gobs of presents thrown at them in one day, so this year we're going to try out the "less is more" idea. Now, I'm not going lie; Last year both of them had a pile of gifts that Santa would be proud to show off, but it was disheartening when they ripped off the paper, showed a glimpse of joy, said their thank you's and cast the carefully chosen toy off to the side to play with the paper or move on to the next box. NOT what I was imagining the night before; And that my friends has been my motivation to change this gift giving/receiving process in our house. So without further ado, lets get started on our challenge this month. I'll be posting what's going on over here project-wise and please let me know what you've got going on. Remember, even if you just make ONE gift, I would LOVE for you to share it with us!

Our Advent Calendar

Day one: Decorating the tree. Check out the "socks" A has on.

Day two: Setting up and acting out the nativity scene.

Wrapping it up

2008-12-01T08:48:00.000-06:00

Well, I really enjoyed my challenge last month. It took a lot of preparing and was ~~a pain in the ass~~ hard for the first week or so, but I walked away from it with a new appreciation for perseverance of small business owners. With stores like Target, Walmart and ToysRus out there, who in their right mind would want to operate a small business??? People who care about quality and tradition, that's who. I loved that this journey led me into conversations with people who have contributed to our city, buildings that are older than my parents, and the realization that THIS ::imagine me waving my hands in the air in a circular motion:: is what I want to be about. Hard work, hope, family, and meaning.

What's going on?

2008-11-25T17:47:00.002-06:00

Last week I was a little shaken up. For the first time since I've been active online, I let someone or I guess something change who I am. Not a good thing. So I took a step back and immersed myself in who I am. I love to create, so that's what I've been doing.

We have a Thanksgiving tree. I loved this idea I saw on Beauty that Moves. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and I hate that it's stomped over to get to Christmas. Hubby and I have really emphasized being thankful for all of our blessings and we try to verbalize it as much as possible. To write it is different.

Here are a few of Allie's contributions.

I finished my Advent calendar. I made the envelopes with scrapbook paper and inside each envelope is an activity we'll do to celebrate the season of Christmas. Here's where I got the idea and here's our list of activities. I LOVE the idea of really celebrating and not feeling like I was drugged the whole month of December and then wondering what happened on December 26th.

1. Decorate tree.

2. Set up nativity and act it out as we set it up.

3. Make an Advent wreath.

4. Holiday in the Park (local festivities).

5. Read St. Nicholas book (still looking for a good one) and set out our shoes.

6. Celebrate St. Nicholas Day - this is one of Hubby's traditions since his family is from Belgium. I'm going to try and hunt down a few recipes from his BonMama's recipe book.

7. Museum of Fine Arts - free today and they have an exhibit on how different cultures celebrate around the world.

8. Make ornaments - This will be with our playgroup and I'm deciding between the clove oranges and cinnamon ornaments.

9. Write a letter to Santa.

10. Make wreaths and candy canes for the tree. M and A can both do this AND I made them when I was a kid!!!

11. Hang mistletoe and start kissing.

12. Heritage Society's Candlelight tour (local tour of Christmas lights).

13. Visit Santa and watch the ice skaters in the mall.

14. Pick a star off the Be an Angel tree, buy gifts and wrap.

15. Make gift tags for presents using potato stamps.

16. Make gingerbread men.

17. Watch a Christmas movie (maybe Charlie Brown?).

18. Call grandparents and sing Christmas carol (We Wish You a Merry Christmas - gotta start working on it now).

19. Drive around and see Christmas lights.

20. Read Christmas books and drink hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows.

21. Make tamales with my family.

22. Cookie baking party. Friends come over and we all bake, eat and listen to Christmas music.

23. Discovery Green (local) watch ice skaters and try hot apple cider.

24. Bake and decorate a cake for baby Jesus.

A Christmas gift for my new niece. Baby legs and baby shoes. The baby legs are super easy and I've made tons for both of my kids. I bought women's knee hi's for $2 and I think they look adorable with the shoes. The shoes were really easy too, once I learned what interfacing was.

Ok I think that's enough for today. I'm kinda cheating on next month's challenge, but if I didn't start until December, I wouldn't get it done. I'll elaborate more, but for the sake of recruiting I'll post some of my ideas on a homemade Christmas this year. Think about it. Maybe all of your gifts can't be handmade, but how about 5?2? maybe just one to start with this year.

Pass the award on down...

2008-11-25T03:27:00.004-06:00

Poison control - check
ER visit - check, check

Good Lord I'm going to lose my mind. Last weekend, we had to rush M to the ER when his finger was smashed between the wagon and bumper of the truck. Daddy panicked, A sobbed, M took it like a champ, and I swore that this little one was going to be the death of me. I know I have years, YEARS of broken bones, bloody parts, gross oozing things and ER visits in my future with my very active kids, but really??? so soon??? Before they ER could even file M's paper work away, we showed up at their doors again last night. I think some of the nurses even remembered us. I could tell by their heads shaking and slight eye rolls. This time it was my fault. So pass me the damn Mom of the Year award!!

After I gave A some Tylenol for a fever, I put her down for a nap and then went to the kitchen to start dinner. About an hour later, I heard the water going in the bathroom and went to check it out. I lost my mind. A was playing with the Tylenol bottle, which was now full of water and no medicine in sight. I should have known better than to leave it on the counter. It was closed, but obviously NOT child proof. A has the opposite reaction to Tylenol and it makes her hyper so I should have anticipated she wouldn't sleep. Damn.

Poison control. Call Daddy. Go to ER. A cookie, pack of Skittles, peanut butter crackers and five hours later, she's fine. Her levels were a little elevated which says she did drink a little, but not all of it. They just monitored her, took blood and put that gawd awful IV in her and then let us go when her levels were back to normal.

There, now my shame is out there for the world to judge. I'm just so thankful that my baby is ok. Lesson learned and Daddy is now putting the rest of the locks on our cabinets. I'm on the hunt for Tylenol that tastes like ass so my kids don't want to chug it like juice.